


He Looks at You and Sees the Stars

by shooponthemoon



Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Different First Meeting, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Falling In Love, First Kiss, Fluff, Friendship, Friendship/Love, Hospitalization, Hospitals, Injury Recovery, M/M, Rehabilitation, Stargazing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-12
Updated: 2016-01-12
Packaged: 2018-05-13 08:50:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,729
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5702389
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shooponthemoon/pseuds/shooponthemoon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Modern AU - Finn is injured and confined to a wheelchair. He spends his weeks in rehabilitation meeting and talking to new people, waiting for Rey to come back from her training.<br/>But rehab isn't all bad... Finn's roommate is handsome and tousle-haired and perfect and he dazzles Finn with tales of his adventures and exploits, and Finn just can't help but <i>maybe</i> fall in love with Poe Dameron. Just a little bit.</p>
            </blockquote>





	He Looks at You and Sees the Stars

**Author's Note:**

> hah so I said not to expect anything from me for a while... SURPRISE!!! first fic of 2016!!!  
> I've been reading FinnPoe fics since I got back from class this morning and I've been craving some AU stuff for them so badly, so I decided to write my own ;)
> 
> also btw I really, really love these four babies. they pretty much made the movie for me, I love these characters so so much <3  
>  _STAR WARS STAR WARS STAR WARS STAR WARS_

Ever since they’d been kids together in the same foster home, Rey has always been there for Finn, always there to hold his hand when he needed the extra courage. Somehow, she’s always been the stronger of the two, and Finn loves her all the more for it.

On their first day of school, she didn’t pull away from his hand, still wet from his hastily wiped tears as it tightly held hers.

On their first day of high school, Rey grabbed his first knowing Finn still needed that extra support and wanting to show she’d always be there to give it to him.

On the day they both graduated, on the day they both enlisted, on the day their near-suicidal mission to end the war was announced—hands were held, tightly, firmly, reluctant to let go and yet perfectly transmitting the words they just could not say out loud.

When Finn awoke, days later and the injury on his back setting his whole body and mind on fire with pain, the only thing that registered before passing out again was the sensation of his hand being held in a strong, grounding grip, and that alone was enough to send him into a deep, peaceful sleep.

~~~

Rehabilitation was a thoroughly boring process, but Finn knew he was one of the lucky ones—his nurse never passed up the opportunity to remind him that he was most probably going to regain full use of his legs, _if and only if_ he didn’t strain his injury with all of his fidgeting and bustling about.

But Finn couldn’t help it! There were so many interesting people here, and he wanted to greet and talk to everybody, learn about them and their stories and potentially make new friends. Plus he was started to get pretty skilled at wheeling himself around and was probably having much more fun riding around in a wheelchair than he should.

Rey visited as often as she could, but her newfound fame from her part in their victory meant she had a lot less freedom than before. She was also preparing for her upcoming intensive, personal training with a legendary retired officer, and though she was anxious about leaving Finn alone for three weeks, he could tell that she was also quite excited for the opportunity.

But perhaps the most interesting part of Finn’s day was when his roommate, a handsome, tousle-haired man named Poe, woke up to dazzle Finn with tales of his adventures and exploits as the fleet’s “best damn pilot,” as he liked to tell Finn.

Finn wasn’t quite sure what had happened to Poe to land him in rehab, or why he slept so much—the nurses whispered about his brain trying to recover from an intense trauma, but they were tight-lipped about anything more than that—and Finn felt like it wasn’t quite right to ask and make his new friend relive what was probably a very unpleasant experience.

But still, the time they shared together was amazing. Poe had the greatest smile Finn had ever seen, and his whole face lit up with happiness whenever Finn said something particularly funny to him. And when Poe wasn’t feeling too tired, he would push Finn and his wheelchair out onto their room’s balcony (he had swiped the key from the nurse, and it was their closest kept secret) so they could watch the sunrise, sunset, or the stars, depending on the time of day.

From what Finn could gather, Poe was very enthusiastic about space. When Poe talked about his own adventures, it was more in an almost joking, storytelling-like way, as if he was just trying his hardest to make Finn smile—not that he had to try hard at all, really. But when he talked about the stars and planets and various other astrological oddities, especially when they were out at night, his voice was always soft and warm, his eyes fond as he gazed upwards, his smile content. Finn imagined him speaking that way as if catching up with an old friend, a mug of tea in his hands as he sits by a warm fire.

On those nights, they only head back in once Finn’s eyes start to droop and the only think keeping him awake is his shivering.

On those nights, Finn gets tucked into bed with Poe’s worn leather jacket around his shoulders, keeping him warm.

On those nights, Finn can’t help it if he breathes in just a little deeper, trying to imprint the smell of Poe onto his very lungs, and in the morning he will once again try to convince himself that he is _not_ in love with Poe Dameron. Or maybe… maybe he is, just a little bit.

~~~

When Rey finally comes back from her training, she walks into Finn’s room, her face grinning her signature smile and her arms full of the dirtiest cat Finn had ever seen—because of course Rey would pick up a stray on her way over, and Finn is nowhere near surprised.

“Rey!” he exclaims, throwing his arms wide open and wiggling on the spot in excitement as he waits for her to gently deposit the cat on the ground before tossing herself into his embrace.

“Finn! I missed you so much!” she sighs, squeezing him a little tighter but still mindful of his wound.

“I missed you too!” he replied, breathing in the familiar smell of everything Rey, everything _home_. “How did your training go?”

“It went ok, I guess,” she shrugged, pulling back. “I’m not done though; I’m heading back in another week. The old guy’s kinda stubborn so it’s taking him a while to warm up me and to having a student again, I guess.”

Finn scoffs, unable to see how anyone could not absolutely adore Rey the moment they met her, when all of a sudden he feels a sharp pain in his right hand.

“Ouch!” he yells, looking down to see Rey’s dirty cat hissing up at him, claws out and threatening to scratch him again.

“Hey! Don’t do that!” Rey scolded it, and Finn swore it gave her the most innocent, pleading eyes as it meowed at her while pawing at his jacket—no, Poe’s jacket.

And speaking of the handsome devil—

“So _this_ must be the mysterious sister he speaks so highly of!” Poe greets Rey with his usual charm, walking back in from his weekly check-up with the doctor. “So nice to finally… OH MY GOSH BEEBEE!” he cried out, scooping the cat up in his arms where she instantly began to purr and nuzzle at his chin.

“Where did you find her? The crew said she ran away from our barracks weeks ago!” he said, sitting down on the bed awfully close to Finn and looking at Rey in wondrous amazement.

“Stuck in a sand pit a few blocks from the hospital, meowling so loudly it broke my heart,” admitted Rey, giving her head a rub and earning a happy purr in response. “I just couldn’t leave here there, you know? Thought Finn would like to play with her, but she doesn’t seem to like him much so far…” she trained off, gesturing to Finn’s hand.

Finn felt warmth flood through him from his hand when Poe took it in his to further examine the scratch. “I’m so sorry,” he began, giving Finn an apologetic smile. “Maybe she’s just a little bit jealous that you were sitting here in my jacket and I was nowhere to be found,” he teased. Finn shoved him away with his shoulder as Poe laughed, and he hoped that his dark skin would hide the blush that was currently burning his cheeks.

Finn didn’t have to catch her eye to know that Rey could see right through him though, and when she left a few hours later promising to get BeeBee cleaned up and to bring her back the next day, she gave Finn a very meaningful look that promised she wouldn’t relent until she got the whole story out of him, and soon.

And when Finn tried to finally return Poe’s jacket later that evening, the man smiled as he told Finn to keep it, insisting it looked better on him anyways. Finn couldn’t help it if his heart sped up at the words, and he was so flustered he missed the look Poe gave him as he stepped away, gazing at Finn with the same fond smile he reserved for his beloved stars.

~~~

The day Finn was finally ready to leave, his legs once again supporting his weight and the pain in his back just a bad scar and a distant memory, he couldn’t help but feel his heart sink a little at having to leave Poe behind, their time together coming to a regretful end.

But when he went to go say his final goodbyes, BeeBee curled up in Poe’s lap and purring like the big ball of while and orange fuzz that she was, this time Finn did _not_ miss the look Poe gave him when he looked up from petting BeeBee’s head, their gazes catching each other and breaths stuttering as Finn’s brain struggled to catch up to what his heart already knew.

Luckily, Poe was a little quicker at working things out. When Finn felt a warm, sturdy hand on the back of his neck pulling him down, the other grasping his hand tightly, he was less surprised by the tender kiss Poe gave him than the sudden realization that _these hands_ were the ones that had kept him anchored when he had needed them most, back when he’d briefly awoken into a nightmare of pain and confusion.

Poe hesitated, breaking the kiss as Finn still stood frozen, reeling from his realization, only to be pushed back down onto his bed when Finn came back to his senses and greedily demanded more kisses, deeper kisses, longer kisses from Poe, who was more than happy to oblige.

BeeBee hissed at the two as she extricated herself from between them, swishing her tail as she jumped down and headed for the door. They seemed like they would be at it for a while, and she was sure she could find someone else to fawn over her for an hour or two while her two favourite humans were busy with each other.

**Author's Note:**

> [ **my tumblr** ](http://shooponthemoon.tumblr.com/)
> 
>  
> 
> btw if anybody wants to keep writing in this AU feel free, just send me a message 'cause I'd love to read anything you write! :D
> 
> also, a HUGE thank you to everyone for supporting my writing in 2015! I hope the new year is just as good to us all! <3


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